I don’t recall ever seeing an armadillo when I was a child (many, many years ago) here in Alabama. But now it’s rare that I don’t spot one of these so called “Texas Speed Bumps” dead on the side of the road after even a short drive. Back in that time, they were pretty much in Texas.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way. They originally came from South America but migrated north and stayed in Texas awhile till they had a hankering to roam east and eventually came to the “Mighty Mississip”. I found that Armadillos have a high fat level and some believe they may be excellent swimmers. Seems unlikely to cross such a formidable road block to me. But the Rail Road built bridges and they were able to waddle across. Also, they may have hitched rides on trucks and there was even a couple of them that escaped from a zoo in Florida many decades ago. Either way, they are here to stay and likely to remain. Much like the curse of sin.

So there were no armadillos…then there were a few…and now they are numerous. And this reminds me of how sin grows. We may just do something that we consider not that big a deal. But to some degree our conscience is seared and it is so much easier the next time to commit this same sin and not have as much regret. Then it becomes a habit. Many times, after having one sin area accepted in our lives, we can more easily move on the heavier sins.

I once heard someone explain how habits are formed. The person showed a picture of wrinkles in a brain and said that the best way to describe it is that if some action or thought occurs repeatedly, it’s like a trench that gets dug deeper and deeper. And we know when you pour out water, the water will seek the deepest level down. So to undo a habit, it’s necessary to dig a deeper trench than the one that is already there. (Remember Pavlov’s dogs – automatic response without reasoning.)

Not unlike a drug user. A little pot at a party may seem harmless but many crack users will testify that what gave them a sense of ‘it’s no biggie’ now controls their lives. (I know cause I watch Dr. Phil religiously.)

Generational Curses are difficult at times to distinguish from learned behavior or habits. We all know of cases where a man is an alcoholic. His son grows up and is now predisposed to drink and it is very difficult to overcome this. Same principle applies to a man who beats his wife. The son thinks that this is what marriage is. It is in some degree ingrained and takes work and time to change. A crack baby born to a crack mother will inherit this horrible addiction and through no fault of its own will have to endure the vicious withdrawal.

The most accurate way I’ve found to describe what happens is that the child can be born with a ‘bent’ towards the particular sin of the parents. That is, the devil will most likely seize every opportunity to present the identical sin and repeatedly lure the child in the same direction he has seen modeled before him by his parents.

In America, we see generation after generation of families on welfare. The children born don’t even known of any other way to live. So, in summary, little things turn into big things. That even applies to good areas. Because the Bible tells us when we are faithful in small things, God can trust us with bigger things.

Exodus 20:5 states that the sins of the fathers will be visited to the 3rd and the 4th generation. (But right afterwards says that the people who love God will have His mercy and grace bestowed down to 1,000 generations of their descendants. So I’d certainly say God is very generous. We probably won’t see beyond the 4th generation, but can just imagine how gloriously those many, many children will be blessed.

By visited, this does not mean that the child born WILL for sure commit these same sins. But those temptations that they have lived with and learned will be very hard to overcome. So when we see a family who has adultery, drug use, stealing, or any sin, we need to boldly be available to pray for the children and, if possible, show them another way. Ezekiel 18:1-4 makes it clear that the one who commits a sin is the one guilty before the Lord, not the descendants.

There is a new branch of genetics research called epigenetics. They have recently found out that there is molecular scarring on the DNA of people who are addicts or people who have had severe trauma down to the 3rd and 4th generation! God is pretty awesome. He knew that already almost 4,000 years back in Exodus!
A good example, however, of a father’s sin can be modeled and lived out by the son is found in Genesis 12, 20 and 26. In chapter 12, Abram (later called Abraham) went into Egypt and told his wife, Sarai (later called Sarah) to tell everyone there that she was his sister and not his wife. Why? Well, because AT 65! YEARS OLD! she was extremely beautiful (please tell me what skin care products she used!?) And he had her go into Pharaoh’s harem to save his own hide. This was not long after God had told Abram he would be the father of a great nation. God had to intervene and remove Sarai from Pharaoh and the exciting life of being a kept woman among lots and lots of other kept women. It’s a good thing that, back then, there was a long preparation time to prepare for a new bride to be with the king. The same thing was true in the book of Esther. (btw, it’s true Sarai was his half-sister, but lying is still lying and his motive was to deceive and save himself. Not okay.)

You can go to chapter 20 and just insert a new place, and a new king. Insert Abimelech in the place of Pharaoh. Abimelech was not a name, but a title (such as king). By now, the Lord has graciously given both Abram and Sarai new names, Abraham and Sarah. This occurred about 25 years later. You would think Abraham would have time to reflect on his lie, his lack of faith in the goodness of God, and his self-centered reasoning. But here in chapter 20, Abraham tells her – at 90 YEARS OLD! ‘you are so beautiful, they will want to murder me to take you for the king’s bride’.

It is true that the people of this time and region did not at all believe in adultery (little goody-two-shoes). But did think it was fine to murder! So murdering a man to marry his wife was cool. Also, multiple wives was thought to be just fine and dandy. If you ask me, I think Sarah went way beyond what a submissive wife should do. Because she was chill doing just that and getting the same result…again. And those ‘submit submit submit’ books were not yet available at the Christian bookstores either. But God, because His love never changes, did the exact same thing AGAIN! He rescued her. (The good news is that she was in the harem at least a few weeks and got to experience the ultimate spa experience – they cleaned, perfumed and moisturized the women in the harem for months before the honeymoon suite events took place. Plus, she got some girl time and good ole hen parties!)

But on the second go-round, it’s much worse. The two of them had recently been told that Sarah would bear the promised seed. And the woman was newly pregnant! God intervened again…just like He has to do for me (and you) on a daily basis. Thank goodness because had Sarah slept with Abimelech even one time, then the question would have remained – is this the seed promised to Abraham by God or not.

Skip over to Genesis 26. Isaac, Abe’s son, does the EXACT SAME THING! With his beautiful Rebecca. Like father, like son. Boys will be boys! Again, just fill in the blanks. You don’t even have to change the location from chapter 20, or the name of the king. Yes, it’s Abimelech again…probably the grandson of the one who desired the 90-year, old pregnant Sarah. (And people think the old testament is boring!)

Doubtless Isaac grew up with stories of how his mom was rescued not once but twice by God when dear ole Dad handed her over to various kings to save himself. The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree – that is without intervention such as prayer, pleading the blood of Jesus, and calling on His Holy name.

My point is armadillos are here now, same as sin. And that reminds me of Generational Curses. Sin comes into our lives one way or another. It is persistent which means we have to be ever diligent to block it at every entry level. Because as this next story tells us, the devil is an unrelenting foe.

My Aunt Ola was a sweet and godly woman that I admired so much. I never once heard her say a single, even remotely unkind thing about anyone, even people who were not exactly living a half-way decent life. I can remember every year at the family reunion, all the men would be outside (doubtless discussing football) and the women gathered on the large wrap-around porch. Invariably, some of the aunts, cousins, grannys, etc. would begin bemoaning their plot in life. Mostly, it seemed to me as a little girl they were trying to outdo each other by telling what trials they had by living with their less than perfect husbands.

Not Aunt Ola. She only had good to say about every person brought up. At one point, one of the frustrated ladies rebuked her for throwing water on the fires being created during the ‘sharing’ time. This woman said, “Ola, I think if we were to talk about the devil, you’d have something good to say about him!”

Not missing a beat, Aunt Ola simply stated, “Well, he is a hard worker!”

How true!

Sin comes into our lives in so many ways. We’ve all heard it can enter through the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Some other ways are:
By Invitation – Proverbs 6:27
By Temptation – James 1:14
By Intrusion – I Samuel 18:18
By Imagination – Romans 1:21
And by GENERATIONAL CURSES – Exodus 20:5. And there are a wide variety of others as well. So swim across the Mississippi, hitch a ride on a garbage truck, waddle across a bridge, or escape from a zoo. Persistence is not limited to armadillos, because it really is true: The devil is a hard worker!

And we know the wages of sin is death.

Which brings me back to the armadillo. Did you know many of them carry leprosy? It is also rare but possible that they can give it to humans as well. During the depression, President Hoover promised ‘a chicken in every pot’. Some of the very poorest people, after eating the chicken and still being hungry, took to eating armadillos. It was sometimes referred to as ‘Hoover Hogs’. They stated it tastes like pork! I think I’ll pass on these ‘opossums on the half shell’!

So we know that while armadillos will go to whatever length to get to where they are going, that sin (and the devil) will work hard to get into your life. And they both can lead to death.

We also know that God gives us defenses when we encounter sin. We stay in the word, pray, fellowship with believers, let them speak into our lives and have accountability partners to name a few.

We know, too, that God gives every creature He has created means of defending themselves. Horns for the sheep, venom for snakes, speed for horses. But we must know which of our vast arsenal to use for effectively combating temptations that come.

God gave the armadillo the ability to jump straight up as high as three feet in the air. This works really well when they encounter wolves, dogs, foxes and many other creatures. It’s actually pretty scary to see an animal just jump straight up like Kobe Bryant right in front of you.

Unfortunately for them, they may be choosing the wrong defense when they see a vehicle barreling down the street directly at them. Usually, the height they jump is right at the height of the approaching bumper. Thus, sadly for them, we see those bodies on the side of the road so frequently.

Likewise, we need to develop all of the defenses the Bible gives us so we’ll know the correct way to respond to thoughts that come our way or opportunities that present themselves that are clearly not God’s plan.

So the next time you see a downed armadillo, remember that the wages of sin is death and that our sins can and frequently do affect our children and grandchildren for generations. YOU be the one that will break the cycle (and also, please, don’t eat raw armadillo).

(See more stories at http://www.erajodevotions.wordpress.com)